Felis Domestica
by KimotoCat
Summary: Fox Mulder goes for a walk in the Washington night and meet up with an unusual nightcrawler. (Finished)
1. Part 1

_Title: "Felis Domestica"_

_Author: KimotoCat._

_Rating: Not rated, author not too familiar with rating system. A little foul language and a little violence._

_Classification: A short novel in a known environment – Washington DC._

_Spoilers: None. Takes place somewhere within 6th season._

_Requirements: None. (Other than previous knowledge of the X-Files scenario?)_

_Summary: Mulder can't sleep and decides to go downtown. He tries a new tavern, where he runs into a very unusual woman who tells him a very unusual story about herself…_

_Disclaimer: I fully understand that special agent Fox Mulder, special agent Dana Scully and the concept of the X-files is a registered trademark and property of Chris Carter and FOX. This is not a work of copyright violation, but should be seen as a contribution to a piece of television art._

_However, the Kimoto Takita© character, complete with appearance and abilities, is the property of this author._

_This has been on my hard disk for ages – please read and comment…_

o o o

**Felis Domestica – part 1**

It was a dry, dusty night and Fox Mulder had trouble sleeping, just as he often did. His friend and colleague, Dana Scully, was down in Frisco on a boring assignment and could not be expected home before late night or early morning. Mulder was not busy doing anything, so he decided to go for a walk downtown. A bit of fresh air had worked miracles before.

His lonesome steps led him to parts of the town, where he had rarely been before, and never in the role of a civilian going for a walk. It was the kind of place, where an outcast lowlife would feel, well, at home.

It came as somewhat of a surprise, as Mulder saw a sign down a dirty alley, flashing in pale orange: "The Sewer - Bar". The scenery was so obviously film-noir, that he could not resist an urge to go and check it out.

Inside was a small room, barely more than a large living room, just enough to display some five tables and a rough desk with a lone figure standing in front of it. Mulder went to the desk, where he was met by the neutral stare of an old man, - the barkeep.

"Good evening," Mulder said with his professional kind smile. "Nice place."

"What?"

Something about the voice and tone of the barkeep told Mulder, that he did not ask what he had said, he asked what he wanted.

"What can you recommend?" Mulder asked.

The barkeeper did not answer this. In stead, he took out an unlabeled flask and poured something into a cup, which he shoved towards Mulder.

"Drink o'the House, two dollars!"

Mulder paid and took the cup. It did not smell bad, but it did look like sewage all right. As he carefully sipped it, it turned out to have a nice, warm herbal taste.

The agent looked up to give his appreciation to the barkeep, but he had turned around, obviously not wanting to talk any more to the guest. In stead, Mulder took a look at the other guests.

Not that there were many of them. Seven or eight people lurked over two of the tables. Another was leaning over a third table, sleeping quietly. And at the other end of the desk, a woman was standing; her side turned towards Mulder and her face seeming very distant as she slowly stirred in a glass with a clear liquid.

Fox Mulder couldn't help but notice the lady at the bar. Unlike others here, she had class.

She also had a tail!

A dark, furry thing hanging discretely under her garments, having the same patterns and colours as the one of a common housecat, only this one was larger. And just before Mulder decided that it was a fake, the tip of the 80-or-so-centimetre tail twitched slightly in a lazy, gentle and very real movement.

Mulder took another sip of his Drink o'the House while trying to decide how to approach this woman. Either she was a fake, but a real good one, or this was rapidly becoming an interesting night out! In either case, things were improving.

Before he could decide what to do or say, the woman suddenly turned towards him, staring at him without blinking with her huge, catlike eyes in an Asian face of great beauty. Mulder could not decide if she also had thin, transparent whiskers as they would disappear towards her golden skin, but at least he could now see, that her hair also had the tabby pattern of a cat. It was long and worn in a knot behind her head, the hairs of her styling partly covering the tips of her ears. He could not help but think, that the hair could be covering something more, well, catlike about the ears.

"Looking for something?" she asked in a soft voice, speaking with a heavy British accent and something more, which Mulder could not place. "I just sensed your stare!"

Mulder did not know quite what to say. He smiled at her, a more genuine smile, as he desperately tried to find a good entry statement. 'I saw your tail' was not a good entry statement.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" she asked with a teasing and uncanny white smile, revealing canines at almost inhuman length. "By the way, you do not look like the regular clientele down here. Where are you from?"

"I live here," Mulder answered, fighting his desire to stare. To investigate. "Well, that is, I live here in DC, I don't usually come here."

"You don't say," she said with her teasing smile. "But well, nor do I. I... am not from DC"

She sure was mysterious; Mulder had to give her that. But then again, he could already hear Scully's voice, telling him how stupid he was to accept the first dressed up schizophrenic he saw as an alien.

"Wherever you are from, at least you do not look hostile," she smiled. "But you look either bored or lonesome. I am both, so how about this, you buy me a drink, and perhaps we can talk for a while."

Mulder turned to the barkeep, ordering a drink "for the lady" and was surprised to learn that she only wanted a huge glass of water with ice.

"My name is Mulder. Fox Mulder," he introduced himself. "And you?"

"You can call me Kim," she answered. "It's short for my first name, Kimoto. Can I call you Fox? Or do you have something short for that?"

"No, but everybody calls me Mulder. I guess, I like it that way," the agent answered with an excusing smile. "Fox is so... well..."

"Canine," she suggested.

"Hadn't thought of that," he admitted, taken a bit aback by the unexpected turn of the conversation.

"Now we are supposed to tell each other what kind of jobs we have and why we are in a dump like this when we have such nice careers," Kim said, slowly stirring the ice in her glass. "So, what do you do for a living, Mulder?"

"I work with the government," he said, not liking to admit that it was the Bureau, as he somehow was of the impression that it could harm the intimacy evolving between them.

"What part of the government?" Kim asked. "And what government?"

"What government? Ours, naturally. What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don't know, there are so many things to... sorry, I guess I am not making much sense," she said, looking straight at her glass. "It's the late night and I've had some busy days. I was just kidding."

Fox Mulder looked at her oriental face and her eyes. She was hiding something. But then again, so was he.

"So, what part of our government?"

"FBI," he answered. Admitted.

"FBI?" she repeated, looking slightly bothered by this. The tail, or whatever it was, seemed more lashing. Like the one of a cat hunting. Or a cat cornered. "Are you an agent?"

"Yep."

"Are you working now? Here?"

"No, I just couldn't sleep," Mulder explained. "I went for a walk to relax, that's all."

"I see."

At least she seemed to believe him now. He could see that she started to relax again as she took another sip of water. He also relaxed somewhat, but still maintained some alertness. He had a gut feeling about her; whatever she was, she was genuine.

"So, what do you do?" he inquired.

"Walk around in the night, searching, dropping into sleazy dumps for a drop of water," she answered. "I guess I am a tourist of this nation. Of the U.S."

"Where are you from, if I may ask?"

"Ah, you wouldn't know that place," she avoided him. "Asia, and a small and very insignificant bit of it too."

"Try me."

In stead of answering him, she turned her face towards him, meeting his eyes without blinking. He could now see clearly, that her pupils were shaped like almonds, like those of a cat. And her iris had a deep, emerald hue, besides it being bigger than usual.

"You look trustworthy, agent Fox Mulder," she said without taking her eyes from him for a second. "And I feel like telling somebody. Perhaps if I told someone about it, you could help me somewhat."

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" he asked, fighting his urge to consider this a case.

"Some kind, yes, you can say that," she answered. "A lot, actually. I am kind of lost here."

"Lost? In what way?"

"Like lost, like cannot find my way home," she sighed. "Can we go to one of the tables? I would prefer the bit of privacy that gives us."

"Sure."

She led the way towards the table farthest away from the other guests. Not that anyone noticed anything; they were busy, talking in low voices amongst themselves or playing card games over small amounts, fortunes for the likes of them.

Mulder noticed the obviously real movements as she lifted the tail a bit, using "tail muscles", not her hands, thus avoiding sitting on it. She noticed his stare, but she did not say anything. In stead, she looked at him again, as if considering something.

"You're an agent?" she inquired again. "Would an agent of the FBI be expected to hand in unusual suspects or illegal aliens if encountering them on a sleazy bar?"

"Relax, Kim," he said in a tired smile, as always minding the hostilities sometimes provoked by his badge. "I am not working now."

"Okay, sorry, I am just a bit tense."

"Yes, you are," he agreed, leaning forwards, meeting her catlike eyes. "What is the problem?"

"All right," the feline woman said in a crispy dry voice. She took a healthy sip of water and looked Mulder straight in his eyes. "It may seem a bit weird," she continued. "But I will, as they say, tell you the story of my life. The abridged version, that is. Then you can decide for yourself!"

"Sounds okay with me," Mulder said, gesturing with the palm of his one hand towards her, deliberately signalling peace and relaxation. "I'm listening."

"Okay, well, my name is Kimoto Takita and I am the eldest daughter of Inin Takita of Honshu II." Kim looked at Mulder, as if expecting a reaction. When not getting it, she continued: "And Inin Takita is the Emperor of Honshu II, master of the warriors and eternal protector of his people. A true samurai."

"Samurai?" Mulder said, trying to think about Asia and Japan. He had heard of samurais, such places as the big screen or television series, but the only form in which this old warrior form still existed, was on museums. "Continue," he demanded, regarding her carefully.

"I know what you are thinking," she said in a tense voice. "But I ask you, please hear my story out before you either arrest me or have me admitted to a hospital. Deal?"

"Deal," Mulder smiled. "I'll hear you out, but then you also listen to my questions afterwards if I have any. Okay?"

"Okay, I'll listen. Promise."

"So, Honshu II?" Mulder inquired. "Honshu, isn't that one of the Japanese islands?"

"It is, but Honshu II is not," Kim answered. "Honshu II is a planet, situated very, very far from here."

If Mulder started to doubt her, his face did not reveal anything. His instincts and experience told him, that she believed to be telling the truth. Personally, he was no longer to sure.

"As for my nature," she said after another drink. "I was born from one of my fathers concubines. I know it sounds crazy, even disgusting to the human ear, but she was sheerar, a human but also feline race from the planet Zhirr. She looked a bit like me, but with the facial traits of, say, a large mountain lion, only a higher forehead, hiding a more intelligent sized brain," Kim explained in the slightly hectic voice of a person, not wanting to be interrupted. "My father was intrigued by her, and made her his concubine. Naturally, the Emperor could never marry a non-human creature, even as close as she seemed. What nobody had expected was that it created offspring. Me. I am basically a freak of both nature and my father's sick desires. Hence my feline traits in a fairly human appearance."

Mulder looked observantly at her. Perhaps her feline appearance had forced her into delusions about her lineage; he was no longer in any doubt that she was more feline in physical appearance than other people were.

"Unfortunately, I was the first born. Also unfortunately, I was female. Even more unfortunately, I am a female without the ability to breed offspring. That is the sad outcome of the mating between the sheerar and the pure humans." Kim took an angry sip from the glass and continued: "Being female, I cannot inherit the throne. Being unable to give birth, I can also not be the heir. So, my father had me trained in the ways of the warrior and decided that I should be part of his political schemes and was to marry someone important who did not need offspring. I now have a brother, Arturo Takita, prince to the throne, who will follow my father when he dies. A fine, healthy 100 human specimen, who has promised that if he becomes Emperor before I marry, I will not have to marry anybody."

"You do not wish to marry?" Mulder asked, wishing that Scully had been here to see her, as there was no doubt, that she was an interesting biological case. Perhaps an interesting mental case too.

"No, would you want to marry someone for purely political reasons? But my father decided, as a gesture," Kim sighed again. "-To marry me to count Matsudaira, an old but skilled man of Honshu II. He has children, but he appreciates the company of young women. You see, on Honshu, important men can have several wives. Well, that was when I decided that enough was enough and left the planet. Unfortunately for my father, he has had me trained to have a will of my own. That is almost nine months ago for me. I have become a fugitive of my own world!"

"But how did you come here?" Mulder asked, expecting the typical story of bright lights and unknown aliens, this time in a hitch-a-hike version.

"Do you believe in magic?" Kim asked, again piercing him with her emerald eyes. "You see, I do. I didn't a year back, but that was before I crashed on an unknown planet."

Mulder only just avoided saying something like 'another planet?'

"It would take to much time to explain about this other planet. What you need to know, is that magic exists there. Not only as pesky shows and stunts, but real, hard-core magic. Magic allowing the wielder to perform great, unnatural tasks. Tasks such as sending me far away from his planet. Far away, both in time and space. So now, I do not know how to get home. I also do not know if I want to go home. Anyway, home is some 2700 years into the future, and I am not very keen on that place."

She definitely was a mental case, Mulder decided. But a technically interesting one. It would prove an interesting task to persuade her to follow to a suitable clinic. If he could not persuade her, then what? Mulder did not know if she was in any danger to herself or others, and if she was not, admitting her by force was not the way to handle it. He needed to gain even more of her confidence.

o o o

_To be continued..._


	2. Part 2

_Title: "Felis Domestica"_

_Author: KimotoCat._

_Further notes: See part 1._

o o o

**Felis Domestica – part 2**

"If you come from the future, as you say you do," Mulder said in, what he hoped, was a very confidence inspiring voice. "What can you tell me about our own future? The future of this world?"

"Well, here comes the part, that may interest you personally," Kim said. "As you know, Earth is in a time of change. Things are happening rapidly. And, well, I do not remember the exact time, but I guess about fifty years from now, the Americans launched, erh, will launch their first interstellar spaceship, complete with early type hibernation-cells and all, going to some sun near by, Proxima Centauri or something like that. Only, the ship will not make it there. They will be rounded up by curious Deltans, later known as the Tall Blue Folk."

"Deltans?" Mulder asked. "What's that?"

"Oh, I hardly remember much about them. There are so many creatures out there; beings demanding the right to be recognised as intelligent and sentient beings. Well, they are tall, almost like humans, and quite blue as the sky above us. Back then, they were also considered way beyond human technology. They were actually only a few hundred years beyond, but it seemed impressive enough, when the American vessel suddenly returned to Earth after only some five months, claiming that they had dropped going to Proxima and in stead invited some friends for supper."

Kim took a brake, drinking some more and sheltering her green eyes a bit with her one hand, seeming very tired. Mulder noticed that the tips of her fingers also did not seem quite like human fingers. It almost seemed at if she did not have nails but... claws? Kim looked at Mulder again.

"You know this world; you can probably imagine the reaction as the Deltans landed shortly after, just like the astronauts said they would. And there was no point denying it! They landed in a very big ship and a very public place. Well, turmoil is a mild word. The Indian-American crisis was this close to a nuclear solution at the time, but everybody forgot about pesky little planetary politics and started to look to the stars. Most anyway, some medieval land somewhere eastern nuked the hell out of one of the Deltan ships, only to be repaid by local, Earthly nations. Then peace came, and it was for real this time."

"Real peace," Mulder said with a smile. "I like that. But then what happened?"

"After very few years, Earth had the technology to travel in hyperspace, the travel-method enabling future travel over the vast distances of the galaxy. The rest is, as they say, history. Earth expanded and expanded, wanting little less than it all. American worlds, European worlds, Asian worlds, Chinese worlds and, well, Honshu II was populated by Japanese people, who saw this as an opportunity to revive the former glory of the land. They soon reinstalled the former Emperor, actually a son of the real Imperial Lineage from the Old World, Ashihito VI."

"A descendant of Hirohito?" Mulder asked, trying to keep her going.

"Yes, I think so," Kim answered. "A few hundred years later, Honshu II had established itself in the Galaxy. Even today, well, in my time, important parts for hyper drives, hibernation-cells and many other forms of high-tech hardware come from Honshu II. But the Emperor had become weak, and the people were against him. And so, Torihana Takita, a distant member of the Imperial family, overthrew him and declared himself the new Emperor of Honshu, backed by the people, the army and the government." Kim suddenly gave Mulder a sharp stare. "And that's some 1800 years ago in my home, humh, time, and the Takitas still rule the planet."

"What happened to Earth?" Mulder asked. It was always fascinating to see how far the delusions went. Had she concocted a story about this?

"I don't really know. But your planet wanted a piece of the cake; they wanted to control the colonies. They wanted heavy taxes and to be in charge. I think it was Turon VII who started, telling the Earth's' officials to go away or they would make them go away. More planets followed on this and it ended in chaos. Some people in other worlds still had families on Earth. And it was the mother world of all human kind. In my time we know, that humans actually also come from other planets, but we did not know this back then."

"From other planets?" Mulder asked, suddenly finding that he was fascinated. In spite of her obvious delusions, her story seemed valid, almost as if true.

"Yes, there are nine other worlds, from which humans have spread over the galaxy. There are many theories about how and why, but the species are so close, that humans from one planet can inter-mate with humans from another," Kim explained, still looking very sincere about it all. "But back on Earth, it ended in chaos. The Earth did not want to let go of the colonies, not realising that the colonies had become too powerful to be an adversary. Nuclear havoc and worse, coming from new alien allies, was spread over the entire planet about a thousand years ago. Hrmh, well, before my time, anyway. I guess, some 1700 years into your future. To tell you the truth, it is not known if the planet was destroyed or, hrm, only knocked back to the stone-age. I guess nobody really wants to find out. And there haven't been any signs from the planet ever since."

Mulder swallowed something, but he hesitated to speak. If this was true - which it by all likelihood was not - it was a both fascinating and terrifying story. The agent nodded to Kim to continue.

"I guess that just about raps it up," Kim said, meeting Mulder's hazel eyes with a peculiar glow in her own emerald eyes. "Basically, this is the story of my life so far. Now, do you understand why I asked you to keep your mouth shut and await my story? I mean, if I was to tell you more, such as the things happening on the other planet, I would seem even more out of my mind to you, than I already do."

"I am not saying, that you seem out of your mind, Kim," Mulder answered. "But I admit that it is a bit out of the ordinary."

"A bit?" Kim exclaimed with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Do they train FBI agents to understate things at the FBI-academy?"

"No, it's just, that I am not sure what to say," Mulder said, in accordance with the truth. "It is a bit, well, surprising. I would like to know more about it."

"Well, ask away," Kim smiled. "You made me promise that I would listen to your questions, remember?"

"Yes, well, I was just thinking, that perhaps we should go somewhere else than here," Mulder said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around in the gloomy bar. "They call it the Sewer and I must say, it sure looks like one to me. We could go somewhere more comfortable and have a more decent meal or a cup of coffee. What do you say?"

"Oh my," Kim smiled, fixing Mulder with her eyes. "I think, I am being asked on a date by a handsome FBI-agent. Nice!"

"Well, a kind of date," Mulder smiled back, getting up from his chair. "Are you coming?"

"Why not."

Kim also got up, once again revealing the tail to be everything but a non-biological appendix. The movements were very real and lifelike. And to be truthful, it would not be the first time, Mulder had seen a human with a tail. It was the first time it was a furry tail though.

Being a gentleman by nature, Fox Mulder opened the door to Kim and showed her out into the alley.

"I am sorry, I can't offer you a car, I am afraid, I was on foot," he explained. "But I could get us a cab?"

"Why not, I am very tired of walking," Kim yawned in a very predatorily gesture. "I've been walking a lot these last few days. I do not have much money, you see. Only the few I've managed to get from selling empty bottles and $10 from some jerk who wanted a tiny kiss on his cheek. Well, I needed the money and I guess it was hardly real prostitution."

"Just a moment then," Mulder said as he took out his cell phone. "I'll get us a cab."

But the number, Fox Mulder dialled on the phone, was not for a cab company. It was for special agent Dana Scully. He hoped that she had returned home by now. He also hoped that she had not already gone to bed.

"Dana Scully," a tired voice sounded in the other end of the line, more than just suggesting that she was at home and that she had gone to bed.

"Good morning, my name is Fox Mulder," Mulder said into the phone, not wanting Kim to notice anything. "I would like to order a cab!"

"What?" Scully exclaimed. "What are you talking about?"

"I would like to order a cab," Mulder continued in a slightly higher voice, as if the line was bad. "For two people."

"Mulder, what's wrong?" Scully inquired. "Cause if there isn't anything wrong and this is a hoax, then something will be wrong."

"We are standing outside 112 Jefferson Road," Mulder continued. "Yes, 112 Jefferson Road, and we would like a cab downtown. There's a nice person, whom I would like to take with me."

"Are you at gunpoint?" Scully asked, now completely awake. "I'll get a car and come as quickly as possible. Jefferson Road, that's not much more than five minutes away from here. Should I call for backup?"

"Look, I need to bring this woman in," Mulder explained as he could see, that Kim had moved a bit away, so that he could speak freely. "I am not sure about her mental state, she is clearly delusional, but she is a biological miracle!"

"A biological miracle?" Scully asked in a stern voice, taken a bit aback by Mulder's eager voice.

"She is feline," Mulder said in a stressed voice. "Please get here and help me to bring her in! She mustn't know until she's in. I am not sure, she wants to."

"Feline?" Scully asked bewildered. "You mean, cat-like?"

"Yes, and delusional, she thinks she is from another planet and from the future, 2700 years ahead of us. Aside from her looks, she definitely needs help!"

"Is she armed?"

"I am not sure, but I have my weapon."

"I'll come as fast as possible. Then we'll see about what to do. Tell her, you've asked a friend to drive in stead of the cabs."

"Right."

Mulder could hear Scully disconnect. He knew very well, what his colleague would be thinking right now. Wondering, and not for the first time, if it was the feline woman or Mulder, who was delusional.

"Did you get a cab, Mulder?" Kim asked as she approached again, shivering slightly in the humid night air. "Garrh, I am freezing. Anyway, where should we go?"

"I tried to get a cab," Mulder answered. "But they did not have a free car for another half hour. So I phoned a friend of mine in stead."

"A friend?" Kim said, suddenly bristling at him.

"A good friend from the bureau," Mulder explained. "You can trust her. I trust her."

"You're not a stranded alien from the future," Kim snarled. "I am!"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Who says, I can trust her? Who says, I can trust you?" Kim asked, taking a few steps back. "You say you phoned the Cab Company and then your friend, but you dialled only once. Is that the basis of trust?"

"Look, okay, I phoned my friend right away," Mulder admitted. "But it's okay. Her name is Dana Scully; she's a doctor and an agent. She's a very fine person."

"A doctor? Oh, you do think, I'm crazy, don't you?"

"No," Mulder said with conviction. "No, I don't. But you must admit that your story is unusual."

"It is, but that does not mean, that I want to end up in a straitjacket," Kim said, now with a distinct spitting tone in her voice and seeming more feline than ever. "If you think, I'm going to come along into some hospital with the nice doctor Scully, then you are wrong!"

"Please just listen," Mulder said, not at all feeling sure, what he was going to say if she listened.

She didn't.

"I've been in and out of nice doctors treatments for years," Kim continued, continuously walking backwards, carefully followed at distance by Mulder. "My father, the Emperor, did not at all like, that I followed my own will."

"Please just relax and give me a minute," Mulder said, stretching out his arm in a friendly gesture, slowly following the feline woman and taking care that the distance between them did not grow much bigger.

"He wanted me to give up the sheerar-side of me! Trying to force me by drugs and treatments!" Kim cried, her voice trembling with anxiety. "Fox Mulder, how would you like parts of your nature forced out of you that way?"

"I wouldn't," he answered. "But if you'll just stay, perhaps I can help you. Really."

Before Kim could answer this, a blue Ford drove into the alley, its headlights bathing Mulder and his counterpart in bright light. The car stopped and Dana Scully jumped out, looking at the two of them.

"Is this your famous doctor?" Kim yelled before anyone else talked.

"Yes, it is Dana Scully," Mulder answered. "Please try to listen to her, just for a moment."

"Heyadnay, no!"

Mulder had taken into account, that the delusional feline woman could be armed. But he had not considered much, how she would be armed. When her hand whipped in under her garments, his hand automatically went for his gun; but before he could get it, she was pointing a gun at him.

That is, it seemed a bit like a gun. A heavy duty model, with a bulky casing and a very unusual design. Besides its basic form and structure, the weapon did not have a nuzzle opening! Either it was a science-fiction toy - or it was not a toy at all!

"If you as much as consider to come near me," Kim spat. "I'll fry you on the spot! Get it?"

"Mulder?" Scully inquired, taking out her gun and quietly training it at the woman.

"Wait," he said, trying to shade his eyes a bit from the strong headlights of the Ford. "Kim, Scully has a gun pointed at you. Put down your weapon."

"Remember, I told you about the way of the warrior?" Kim asked in a muffled tone.

"Yes, now please, put the gun down," Mulder insisted as he very slowly and very carefully moved towards her, his one hand reaching for the weapon.

"The code of Bushido," Kim continued, now visibly trembling. "You know what the worst thing about my fate is?"

"Tell me."

"It's actually not that people do not believe it," she gasped. "It is the fact that they think, I'm crazy! That is really disgusting. Really!"

"I said, I would listen to you," Mulder said, taking another step towards the shaking woman. "But I would very much like you to drop your weapon. Now!" During all this, it occurred to Fox Mulder, that none of the other guests at the Sewer had taken any notice of the events. Obviously, nobody came out now.

"The code of Bushido," Kim said again, snivelling. "The way of the warrior."

"Look, I am willing to listen to you and hear you out," Mulder said. "Really, I am not sure, that what you're telling me could not be true! But I talk much better if there are no weapons involved! Put it down!"

"You know, I can prove it," Kim snivelled. "You can see it on my DNA! Have your precious doctor check that out a little later."

"Later than what?" Mulder asked, taking another step.

"Bushido," Kim answered. "Death before defeat! Asshole!"

Without thinking, Mulder threw himself towards Kim as she turned the strange weapon around, aiming it for her head. The little voice inside his head, yelling about 'if...' forced him not to ignore the weapon. He struggled to get his hands on it before it could be fired, either at her or at him self.

Scully came over and intervened in the fight, helping Mulder to force the spitting and screaming woman down, trying to disarm her.

Suddenly, Mulder's world exploded in an overwhelming, white pain as a sharp, intense noise started next to his left ear. The pain was unbearable and for a moment, consciousness seemed vague and intangible, then it faded away and the white pain was replaced with black silence.

o o o

o o o

"Mulder?"

The concerned voice of Dana Scully came from far away and for a brief moment, Fox Mulder had absolutely no intentions of answering. He felt certain, that any such attempts would only leave him in pain.

"Mulder, talk to me!"

When he finally decided to communicate, more in respect of Dana Scully than for any other reason, it turned out that his answer, not much more than a groan, really did inflict pain somewhere behind his heavy, bloodstained eyelids.

"Are you in any pain?" Scully's voice demanded to know. "Talk to me! Look at me!"

Mulder opened his eyes, regretting this action moments later, as the sharp light penetrated his sore eyes and seemed to trigger a splitting headache. With some effort, he managed to focus on Dana Scully, noticing her relief to see him awake.

"You had me scared there, Mulder," she said with one of her charming smiles. "Now, are you in any pain?"

Mulder tried to get up, but was sternly forced down again by Scully, who insisted that he remained still as they waited for the ambulances.

"Ahww... Mmmm... Ambulances?" Mulder stuttered. "Whah… What happened?"

"Your feline friend was armed," Scully answered. "I do not know what that gun was, but it was not a toy. You took a blast to the left side of your head; I do not think it really hit you. Just after that, she took another shot at herself."

"She dead?" Mulder groaned.

"No, not at all," Scully said. "She missed. I think she was horrified to see that you were down. So I managed to overpower her and get her down. She is over here, cuffed."

"Have you seen her?" Mulder asked.

"I could hardly avoid that," Scully said, casting a sidelong glance towards Kim. "You're right, she is, humh, very feline. Tail, ears, whiskers and claws like a cat. Carnivorous teeth too. I don't know how she's evolved like that."

"She is only half human," Mulder smiled. "And from the future, remember?"

"Well, she is a biological miracle, I'll give you that," Scully said, her worried eyes now reflecting the blue lights from the ambulances approaching. "But apart from that, she was armed with a lethal weapon, I've arrested her and I am going to admit her to hospital for suicidal tendencies."

"What are you going to write in your report?" Mulder asked.

"I don't know," Scully admitted. "But science has an answer for everything, also a biologically unique specimen like this one. I guess that DNA analysis will help us. But here's the ambulance now."

"I feel much better now," Mulder said, rubbing his forehead with his one hand.

"That may be, but I'd like it if you had a medical check at the hospital," Scully answered as she got up. "And anyway, you can't see how you look right now."

"You're really not a very comforting person, you know that?"

Scully smiled, a smile containing both excuse and worry. Then she went over to explain about the situation to the rescuers from the ambulances.

o o o

_To be continued…_


	3. Part 3

_Title: "Felis Domestica"_

_Author: KimotoCat._

_Further notes: See part 1._

o o o

**Felis Domestica – part 3**

Next morning, Fox Mulder was declared fit for duty by the doctors, who had kept him hospitalised for surveillance over night. Apparently he had been given some kind of electrical discharge, which had caused some damage but nothing serious.

"You'll have a wonderful black eye for some days," the doctor had told him. "But I don't think there are any permanent injuries. Go see your own doctor in a week or so, just to make sure."

When Mulder left the ward, he almost ran into Scully.

"Good morning," he said with a smile.

"Hi," Scully answered, slightly short of breath. "You're OK now?"

"Yeah, doc says I'm fine," Mulder said. "Were you coming to pay a visit? Where are the flowers?"

"I didn't bring any," Scully admitted. "But I do have something very interesting. Come, I'll show you."

"I've been running some tests on Kimoto Takita," Scully explained as they walked down the corridors. "It does seem that she has some DNA abnormalities, which I cannot just explain. Both her x-rays and her blood tests show a completely unique structure. And the things, I could not find to be human, are very close to the traits of the greater felines, such as the mountain lion or the cheetah. I have shown some of the x-rays to a biologist friend of mine, he says they are a hoax, but a very well made hoax. But the x-rays are real enough, now I just have to figure out, how she has become that way."

"How is she taking it?" Mulder asked. "I mean, other than her physical state."

"Oh, well, she is very depressed. Naturally, after all she did try to kill herself yesterday. A psychologist is talking to her right now, but she is very persistent about her alien story being true."

"Supposing, just supposing, that it is true?" Mulder inquired.

"I just can't believe, that it is," Scully answered, opening a door into another hallway. "But if it is, the DNA analysis and further tests will show some of it. She is right down here, room 14."

As they approached, a tall man in a white robe met them.

"Hi Dana," he said with a smile. "And you must be the famous agent Mulder," he continued, stretching out his hand giving Mulder a cordial handshake. "Pleased to meet you!"

"Mulder, this is Doctor Edward Flynch," Scully introduced. "He is the psychologist responsible for Kimoto."

"Pleased to meet you," Mulder muttered in his typical slightly distant fashion.

"And that is one heck of a responsibility, you've placed me with there," Flynch said, looking at Scully with concern in his grey eyes. "She's a very complex case. Very complex in deed!"

"What can you tell us?" Mulder enquired, suddenly taking an interest.

"Well, for one thing there is no doubt that she thinks she is telling the truth. If we were to take a lie detector test on her, it would show her telling the truth when she talks about being from the future and another planet. Now, I've heard of delusional people, claiming to be time travellers or extraterrestrials, but this is the first case where both things are claimed."

"Is there any possibility, however remote, that she could think, she was telling the truth, simply because she actually was telling the truth?" Mulder asked, looking seriously at the doctor and ignoring Scully's upturned eyes and heavy sighing.

"Well, theoretically, I guess so," Flynch said hesitating. "If we assumed that it could be possible, yes. But naturally, it isn't."

"Are you sure?" Mulder insisted. "Have you exposed any contradictions in her explanations? Has she made any, and I do mean any, mistakes?"

"No, not that I've noticed," Flynch muttered, taken aback by Mulder's sudden eager.

"Well, I just wanted to know," Mulder smiled, finally leaving the doctor alone again. "C'mon, Scully, let's go see the alien time travelling pussycat!"

"You're not suggesting that you actually believe her now?" Scully asked after having assured doctor Flynch about her colleague's mental integrity. "After all, it is part of the delusional patient's behaviour to believe the delusions to be the truth. There's nothing so revolutionary about that."

"I'm not saying I believe her," Mulder answered, hasting towards door 14. "I'm just saying that I'm fascinated by her story, that's all."

"Mulder, look at me," Scully demanded as they stopped outside door 14. "Yesterday you had a long day at work. You went home, but you had one of your insomniac strides and decided to go get some air. Then you dropped into some God forsaken bar and had a something to drink. I am only surprised you did not find Big Foot in there too!"

"You are not reasonable now," Mulder muttered. "You have to admit that she is special!"

"Scientifically, yes," Scully replied. "But she is a biological wonder, to use your own words. She did carry a rather special model of a stun-gun. And she is a mental patient at the same time. Tragic, even strange, but true."

"What's so wrong with talking to her? She's not armed any more, you know!"

"You'll just get carried away," Scully reasoned. "Look, you're tired, you've had a rough night and you were almost electrocuted. Go home and get some sleep. Kimoto is in the safe hands of Doctor Flynch!"

"Just a short talk," Mulder smiled at Scully. "Then I'll go home." He put his hand on the door handle and opened it before Scully got time to object any further. "I'll be good, Mum!" Mulder said to her as he entered the room.

o o o

o o o

She was fixed onto a bed, strapped down, but as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances. As Mulder entered, her emerald eyes met his hazel. She did not look angered or disappointed, just tired.

"Told you that you would arrest me or admit me to a hospital," she said with a kind of smile. "As it ended up, you did both!"

"Sorry about that," Mulder said, grabbing a chair to sit down next to the bed. "But nobody is better off dead, trust me."

"Not even a mad freak like me?" she asked, seemingly seriously.

"Not even a feline star traveller like you," Mulder replied. "Look, I'd like to hear some more of your story."

"What? I thought you said, you were a special agent with the FBI, not a shrink," Kim exclaimed. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"What if I told you, that I believe you?" Mulder tried.

"Ha!"

"No, seriously. I mean, your story is plausible, when we overlook the laws of physics. You say strange things, but you do not mumble away and you do not contradict yourself."

Kim, who had been staring into the ceiling, turned to gaze at him.

"Seriously? You believe me?"

"Yes, I think so," Mulder said cautiously. "I cannot find any other way to explain about your physical nature or that weapon of yours."

"Sorry about your head," Kim muttered, suddenly avoiding his eyes. "I did not try to kill you, you know. It was a stupid accident in the heat of the struggle. I am sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mulder smiled. "Just a black eye to brag with. Never mind me. But how about you?"

"You can see how I am," she groaned. "I just lost grip yesterday, I shouldn't have had a few drinks earlier in the evening, I'm really bad at drinking alcohol. Felines mix badly with that. You really believe me?"

"Yes, I do," Mulder assured her.

Kim once again fixed him with her unnaturally big eyes. In the daylight, stressed by the white surroundings, her pupils were even more thin and alien to an otherwise somewhat human face. Now, as the two dark stripes burned into his own eyes, Fox Mulder suddenly felt sick. His stomach lurched and for a short second, he felt uncomfortably giddy. Then he snapped out of it; Kim turned her face away again and did not seem to have noticed anything.

"You know, strange thing is, I believe that you do believe me," she suddenly said, facing the grey sky outside the window. Then she once again turned to look at him. "Say, are you sure, you are okay?"

"I'm fine, I just haven't had much sleep lately," Mulder answered, his brief seizure having passed.

"You do not look to sharp," Kim said in a worried voice. "Would you like me to summon a nurse? They've placed a buzzer here by my hand, so that I have the liberty to do that. Nice, isn't it?"

"You don't have to call a nurse, but thank you," Mulder said. "If you believe, that I believe you, then please tell me how we can prove your story?"

"Prove it?" Kim smirked. "Well, by letting me out to tell whoever would like to hear it!"

"Letting you out, well, that just may be the tough part. You see-" Mulder began, but his voice snapped as his eyes once again met Kim's. Those dark lines, mere cracks of darkness in two emerald seas. Once caught in those eyes, Mulder could not get himself to look away. More so, he did not want to look away.

"I see what?" Kim purred gently.

"Well… Erh…" Mulder stuttered, sweating and panting heavily.

"No, special agent Fox Mulder," Kim purred on. "You are the one who should see. You say, you believe me. Will you help me?"

"Erh… Yes…" Mulder gasped, mechanically loosening his tie. "Off course."

"Good, I am happy about that. Now, please, Fox Mulder, unstrap me."

"Unstrap, erh… Yes. Unstrap," Mulder stuttered, getting slowly on his feet, reeling as if he was drunk.

The air in the room had become sultry. Both Mulder and Kim were sweating heavily; Kim from the effort of what she was doing and Mulder from the effect of the very same thing. Without trying to say any more, Mulder released the feline woman in mechanical and somewhat fumbling movements.

Kim got up from the bed and rubbed her sore wrists. Then she looked at Mulder.

"You are a remarkable man, you know that?" She asked in a friendly purr as she gently guided him down on the bed. "You know, I told you that I had inherited certain parts of my mother's species. Well, the sheerar have strong telepathic gifts. That is how they have managed evolving into intelligent beings without the human touch for tools. I am not strong with telekinesis, but I do have other gifts."

"But… Bu… How…" Mulder tried, having a very small bit of self-control left.

"How? I don't really know," Kim said, continuously purring quietly as she tightened the straps around Mulder's hands and waist. "But everything I've said this far is true, so you can make your own decisions about the future from it. Now, do you believe in prophecies? I do. I have to; it's what keeps me going after having lost track of both my world and my time. Only I feared the worst yesterday, that's why I preferred death to imprisonment as an interesting specimen here."

"Mmmphh…" Mulder desperately tried, his weary eyes almost popping out of his head from the effort.

"Nooo," Kim purred, almost whispering. "No, I cannot let go of your will so much that you can talk. I am sorry, as I know that you also spoke the truth. You see, I can even, to a degree, read your mind like an open book. And an interesting book it is. In this day and age, heh, I've never before encountered a mind like yours. Fascinating."

Mulder could only stare at her. He barely had the ability to know that he was being manipulated. With this tiny bit of his own consciousness, he tried to make her understand that he wanted to talk to her. He wanted to know more.

"I am sorry for intruding in your mind," Kim continued, making sure that the last strap was secure. "But do not worry, it is a slow process and I did not get far, and even if it is tempting, I have only seen the mere surface of your thoughts. The other thing requires much more effort and your co-operation. But it was enough to intrigue me. And it was enough to see, that you could be persuaded to help me."

"You know, you are the first 1998-person, who has believed me. Even after seeing me, touching me and talking to me, people refuse to believe that the truth is right here."

Mulder could feel something slip away. He was not panting anymore, in stead his breath was slowing down into a pleasant and almost shallow one.

"Agent Fox Mulder, I am sorry to do this to you," Kim said as she opened the window. "I can force you to sleep and I'll do that. It will be some time before they notice that I'm gone. Then you can tell them whatever you like; after all, this is DC and I can easily hide here. I've managed well for two weeks, but I think that I can do much better now that I know, someone believes in me."

Mulder could feel that he was slipping away. He knew he should be terrified by what was happening, but he did not feel like that at all. In stead, this was by far the most pleasant way he had ever been attacked. Well, as attacks go… He just wished he could talk to her.

"Oh by the way, tell your superiors that I cannot become a spy with this, as you know, the subject is bound to notice that something is wrong," Kim said. "Now, because of all this, I have to hide for a while," Kim's voice sounded from far away. "But you are actually the first Earthling human I trust. If it's okay, I'd like to come and visit you some day. Then we can talk. Is it okay?"

Once again, the brief sensation of nausea and vertigo came over Mulder. Then, just as suddenly as it came, it passed. The only strange thing remaining was this immense weariness and persisting desire to sleep.

"Okay, I will drop by then," Kim's voice echoed in the darkness, having a pearly sound of laughter about it. "I'll look forward to it. But now I must leave. Goodbye, special agent Fox Mulder. Till we meet again!"

Mulder could hear some scraping sounds, coming from the direction of the window. Then the weariness overwhelmed him and a warm, comfortable darkness engulfed him.

He welcomed it.

o o o

o o o

Fragment from special agent Dana Scully's report a few days later:

_"...and agent Mulder recovered completely, without any permanent physical or mental injuries._

_As for the presumed Kimoto Takita, the explanation to her extreme physical appearance remains unknown. How an otherwise human person can evolve into this form and mental capacity remains an unanswered question to science. If we did not have photographic material, x-rays and tissue-samples from this creature to support the claim about her existence, it would be my scientific opinion that she could not possibly exist."_

_"...the weapon has obviously been made from an unknown facility, as the technology presented within it are not known to any department within the U.S. Officials from the Department of Defence have made a claim on the weapon, which is to be the focus of further investigations. Any further details regarding it have been classified as a matter of national security."_

_"Regarding Kimoto Takita's whereabouts since her escape from the mental ward on Bethesda Naval Hospital, there is very little to say. Investigations reveal that she must have climbed out the window of the 3rd floor room and left through the park. Extensive search, including the use of police dogs, have not lead to an arrest of her..."_

o o o

The End?

August 1998 by KimotoCat

o o o


End file.
